This has been a week full of events, some inspirational some sad, & some pathetic. Between the revolution in Iran, Governor Mark Sanford's peccadilloes, & the deaths of Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett, it seems fair to expect at least one worthwhile quip or directly relevant standout line but I didn't find anything fitting [read: printable]. I did find something that is at least in part, applicable from Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal.
Sharp Targets
Like many others on both sides of the political aisle, Noonan is concerned that Obama is trying to do too much [particularly when our country's bankroll is a little thin]. More pointedly she quoted something Claire Booth Luce said once said to former president Kennedy, which provides every president with a very sharp target. Of Luce, Noonan wrote:
"...'a great man is one sentence. His leadership can be so well summed up in a single sentence that you don't have to hear his name to know who's being talked about. 'He preserved the union and freed the slaves,' or, 'He lifted us out of a great depression and helped to win a World War.' You didn't have to be told 'Lincoln' or 'FDR.'...' "
The Standard For 'Greatness'
It seems to me that this concept of greatness can be applied to people in all areas who make their mark. "He discovered electricity" or "he was the boy wonder of tennis." In these two cases no one needs to be told they referenced Thomas Edison or John McEnroe respectively. What, if any will be "the sentence" for Michael Jackson?
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